COMPUTERS, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY

[Stanley]

The only TV matter that bothers me at the moment is that occasionally my TV screen goes to white, then black and then re-establishes.... Loose connection? TV giving notice? Could be worse when it is warmed up......

[David Whipp]

GCHQ? Aliens? Tinfoil Hat Time, Stanley?

[Tizer]

When I took back my dad's new TV to Argos after only one week of use the guy said "Ah, it's a TV/DVD combo - most of the TVs that fail quickly are those type". But they don't tell you that when you're buying one!

Stanley's problem may be related to one of my many hobby horses. Much of the electronic stuff we buy these days is kept on standby mode and automatically downloads updates. This, we are told, is great because it means we get all the latest `improvements'. The downside that they don't mention is that when they get the `improvement' wrong, or if it's something you don't want, then you're stuffed. I've twice reported problems due to updates on DVD/hard disk recorders and we get regular problems with our Pure digital radio. Also, the radio now operates differently to when we bought it and isn't as suited to our use.

[Big Kev]

The only TV matter that bothers me at the moment is that occasionally my TV screen goes to white, then black and then re-establishes.... Loose connection? TV giving notice? Could be worse when it is warmed up......

Could be the Freesat box, it's been around a while

[Pluggy]

If it doesn't get turned off at the mains on a regular basis, you could try that.

Yes, Ive got an internet connection via 3G in Anglesey. All be it a bit slow.

[Stanley]

Thanks All. I have an idea that something is giving notice. I know it isn't the aerial because I had that serviced in the summer. I always turn the tv off at the mains during the night and the Freesat box and HD recorder when they are not in use.

[Tizer]

I ordered that Powerline adapter kit from Amazon late on Thursday on their `Free Supersaver' delivery and it arrived on Saturday! The adapters worked straight out of the box and I'm a happy bunny. Thanks to all of you for your comments and especially to Kev for the Amazon link web page link.

[Whyperion]

Tellys switching on/off, possibly a failure (failing) in part of the PSU Power supply (resistor or capacitor), normally on-board. Repairable by those that know how to.

[Stanley]

I think I knew that.......

[Tizer]

A footnote to my experience with the newly bought Powerline adapters....
I took the risk of buying them even though I had some doubts that they'd work in my situation. I want them to extend my broadband between the ground floor and first floor because I couldn't do it with cable or wireless due to peculiarities of the old house layout. The Powerline sounded like a good solution, but...the first floor is a dormer built in the 1980s and, for reasons unknown to us, the lectrics are taken off a fusebox in the garage rather than from the main box in the house. I'd read that Powerline won't work across the circuits if you have two fuseboxes but I took the risk because the feed to our garage box comes off a normal circuit breaker on the main box. So I set up the Powerline first to work between two sockets on the same floor. All was OK so I then took one adapter to the other floor - and was relieved to find it worked perfectly. Now we should be able to get broadband anywhere in our old house, regardless of thick stone walls and foil-coated insulation, including the garage (a `digital shed'!)

[Pluggy]

If its single phase and coming in via the same meter, it should work because its all the same circuit. What are typically called circuits (the bit downstream of a fuse/circuit breaker), is a misnomer. Seperate fuseboxes/consumer units can mean different phases of a 3 phase supply and then it definitely won't work.

[Stanley]

Thanks to Canonical for the large downloads for Ubuntu over the last few days.....

[Stanley]

Thanks again lads! A new version of Firefox for breakfast.....

[Stanley]

Did anyone watch the BBC2 programme on The Dark Web? I caught the end of it. Scary stuff!

[Tripps]

Caught the start but when he spoke of remote monitoring of all the household functions - including tracking your family in and out of the house -I gave up. Like the driverless car -it will never happen. Maybe Pluggy will do it though?

[Pluggy]

I already track people in an out of the house. They all have mobile phones set to hook up to the Wifi when they're in range. Whether their phones are connected to the wifi indicates if the phone is around at least. I'll have to have a look at the program on iplayer, how that is connected to the 'dark web' isn't clear to me. The government has recently cleared self driving cars for use on the road from next year. I'm pretty convinced the driverless car will happen and fairly soon - its already a proven concept, once they are legal nothing will stop them. I mentioned it on here on the 21st of August : http://oneguyfrombarlick.co.uk/viewtopi ... 850#p60784

[PanBiker]

Tracking your family already happens with anyone that carries a mobile phone, uses an ATM or a credit or debit card, that will cover a good proportion of the population I would think. For those that don't have any of the aforementioned there is still CCTV to fall back on or traffic management cameras and the smart motorways. Like it or not you can no longer drive, walk, shop or really go about your normal daily business without someone else knowing about it one way or another.

[Stanley]

So they know when I go to the Co-op.... Big deal! Don't use my mobile and nobody watches CCTV footage in Barlick. I shall ignore it.....

[Stanley]

One of the biggest changes I have noted in the last twenty years is the explosion of mobile phone use. People walking down the street talking to themselves is so common these days that it doesn't merit a second glance. I can't help wondering how much time is wasted by these small intruders. My mind goes back to the days when I was on the road. One of the great advantages was the freedom I had because once I was on my travels nobody could contact me and interrupt what I was doing. I wonder what it's like these days when the boss can bend your ear any time he or she likes and there is quite likely to be a tracker on your vehicle that tells the office exactly where you are and if you're stopped or moving. All very efficient no doubt but it wouldn't do for me!

[Tizer]

A report on the radio the other day said that the Queen commented on how when making an appearance in public she would see a sea of smiling faces...now she sees a sea of mobile phones pointed at her. Over the last 15 years we've all had the danger of colliding with someone talking into their mobile phone and not looking where they're going. Now there's also the hazard of those people pointing their phone everywhere and not noticing what's going on around them.

[Stanley]

I've always seen the telephone as a tyrannous technology because it demands instant response. How many times have you been interacting with someone and been interrupted because the 'phone rings? One of the worst instances is using check out personnel to respond to enquiries. That's why I only answer it in the mornings..... That's why I like email, all the advantages of electronic communication without the downside of having to respond immediately.

[Steven Chorkley]

So they know when I go to the Co-op.... Big deal! Don't use my mobile and nobody watches CCTV footage in Barlick. I shall ignore it.....

Tracking isn't a new thing, but if your not doing anything wrong why would you even care if you were being watched? So you go into a small town square, or your walking down the sidewalk in NYC, it doesn't matter. Your always going to be tracked. But why would you even care?
So the GCHQ are listening to my phone calls, the most private of conversations are still known, the government know my transactions, my health history. It's nothing new to them, or to you.

One of the biggest changes I have noted in the last twenty years is the explosion of mobile phone use. People walking down the street talking to themselves is so common these days that it doesn't merit a second glance. I can't help wondering how much time is wasted by these small intruders. My mind goes back to the days when I was on the road. One of the great advantages was the freedom I had because once I was on my travels nobody could contact me and interrupt what I was doing. I wonder what it's like these days when the boss can bend your ear any time he or she likes and there is quite likely to be a tracker on your vehicle that tells the office exactly where you are and if you're stopped or moving. All very efficient no doubt but it wouldn't do for me!

Mobile phones are great. People just don't understand how valuable they are in daily lives, if they didn't help us, why would demand / development be so high? They allow people to work from remote locations (It's awesome being able to build a website on a bus, or in a waiting room or simply email whilst abroad.).
If someone wants to leave their phone behind, what's stopping them? Their work? - You chose that job, Your Family? - I'd say you'd be more worried without a phone.
Nothing is forcing you to purchase a phone, however the advantages are literally becoming limitless as time progresses. I find my phone as a crucial resource in class, being able to have google in my hand is something you just cannot replace. I can photograph and record lectures and build a computerised album of all my classes. My college is going paperless, and it's just so much easier begin able to download anything I need / want at any time.
Calendar, Calculator, Camera, Email, Messaging, Phone Calls, Compass, GPS, Gyroscope, Video Conferencing, Voice Recording, Dictation, MP3 Player, FM Radio to simply name a few. All built in features of most phones, and I use the majority everyday. My friend Chris is an air cadet. He's currently building an app that can take readings from the barometer, thermometer, gyroscope, accelerometer and GPS in a standard Android phone to track his flights, all which normally requires equipment costing £1000's.
They cut costs, allow you to work from anywhere and boost productivity and efficiency in a way which just wasn't possible 10 years ago.

I'm not arguing that they don't cause issues, they cause issues everyday. It's the way people choose to use technology, but as a whole, it's improving our daily lives.

I've always seen the telephone as a tyrannous technology because it demands instant response. How many times have you been interacting with someone and been interrupted because the 'phone rings? One of the worst instances is using check out personnel to respond to enquiries. That's why I only answer it in the mornings..... That's why I like email, all the advantages of electronic communication without the downside of having to respond immediately.

Again, I think that's rubbish. If I have an important call on a rare occasion, I do interrupt a conversation, same way if an urgent message came through, it must be dealt with at that moment. It's the way someone chooses to use their phone, nothing is forcing you to pull out your phone.

I think this is simply an overview, I don't think people who share this view maybe see the effect it has. Maybe they don't use technology as extensively as my generation, but I believe more people will start using technology to a more fuller extent, and that this opinion will simply disappear over the next 15 / 20 years.

[chinatyke]

Perhaps you haven't experienced Chinese country bumpkins with these high tech gadgets, shouting into their phones on coaches and trains. Why? The sound levels are self adjusting for background noise aren't they? It's at times like this that I promise myself that I'm going to buy a signal blocker and interrupt them. It comes down to etiquette and good manners.

I agree with Steven, a great device when used properly. The technology and systems behind these devices are enormous and astounding and unimaginable just twenty years ago.

[Stanley]

Sorry Steven but you're showing your age. I can remember a time when the only way of tracking you was have a bobby following you all day so I haven't 'always been tracked'. I never said phones were useless, just that not having one when I was on the road gave me a freedom you will never know. As for you saying that it's rubbish when I object to being interrupted when I'm having a conversation with someone, you're entitled to your own view but don't tell me it's rubbish. It's my point of view and perfectly reasonable. Do you remember the check-out lady who risked her job recently by objecting to a customer ignoring her by using her phone? She evidently agreed with me.
As for general electronic surveillance, I knew about Echelon (or its predecessor) operating from Menwith Hill thirty years ago. My mate risked imprisonment to get out of the NSA, an organisation that the US denied existed at the time. I suspect this was before you were born.
I use the modern technology that fits my life every day but it's my choice, my objection to mass data gathering is based on the fact that it is imposed on me. 75 years ago we went to war over an imposition. So I have a different view of the world, it may be old-fashioned but it is not rubbish.

[David Whipp]

It's time I fessed up to not having has a mobby for the last four months...

I've quite liked not being a slave to the ringtone!

Don't think I can manage it much longer though; my friends don't want to become permanent personal assistants taking calls and passing messages.

And using the functionality of modern mobiles is obviously desirable.

I've not got a rose-tinted view of the past and, though clearly not an early adopter, embrace change. But there's much that we've lost from our lives as technology has transformed the way we live.